Streak Ended

Last night our incredible nine game win streak came to an end. Our school record of 560 minutes without conceding a goal also came to an end. It was an impressive run that covered parts of seven consecutive games. This was a total team effort and every player deserves the praise.

The game was very exciting to watch with both teams getting good chances in the first half. Both goal keepers made impressive saves to keep their teams in the game. Southridge keeper Brandon Hale made a diving save off a shot from one of the leagues most dangerous players, then 10 minutes later he stopped a point blank shot that had goal written all over it. Hale would finish with 10 saves on the night. Jarad Brisbin had a goal scoring chance cleared off the line by Kamiakin's Evan Johnson, and Adolfo Garcia sent a dangerous Jarad Brisbin cross over the top of the cross bar.

In the second half there were four minutes gone win Kamiakin earned a free kick from 25 yards out. It was Senior Captain Gavin Richter who stepped to the ball brimming with confidence after scoring off a kick from the exact same spot in their last game against Hanford. The ball was struck sweetly over the top of Hales perfectly positioned wall, then dropped several feet to find the back of the net. It was the first league game that the Suns had been behind since the opening week against Pasco on March 14th. A concern of the coaching staff was was after not trailing in nine games and over five weeks, how would the team handle this situation? The boy's showed their resilience and didn't drop their heads as they continued to battle Kamiakin. Brisbin decided to show his own quality on a free kick that was over 35 yards out. He struck a powerful ball that curled around the wall and required a diving save from Abel Bautista which he turned away for a corner kick. With 19 minutes left in the game Senior Captain Tanner Crass was forced to abandon his defensive duties as he was called on to become the third forward the Suns needed to increase the pressure on the oppositions defense. It was with six minutes in the game that Crass almost became the hero, he struck a brilliant left footed volley that required all of Bautista's skill to force the ball over the cross bar and out of his goal earning the Suns fifth corner of the night.

The game unfortunately ended 1-0 as Kamiakin took over sole possession of second place, and sent Southridge to third. The boy's played with a ton of heart and left everything on the field. It was a well deserved win for Kamiakin and a lesson learned for Southridge. We are all proud of the way the team played and look forward to our last two games of the season against Davis and West Valley.

A special thanks to all those fans who attended the game. It was the largest turnout in the history of the program and the players, coaches, and parents appreciated the support that was shown. The players feed of the energy that's created and they wanted to win the game for the fans as much as for themselves. Please continue to show your support as we are guaranteed a home playoff game and nothing would be better than to have this kind of support during the postseason. Thanks again.